Facing Laxus

Back at the guild, Mo Si collected her payment of 100,000 J. She wanted to give Laxus half, but he refused.

Laxus was not short on money. He valued Mo Si herself more.

Since he refused, Mo Si did not insist. She kept the full payment and used some of it to cover her rent and meals.

From that day onward, Mo Si added another activity to her daily routine: taking jobs.

She did not do jobs for money, but for magic power.

For that reason, she only accepted jobs to drive away monsters.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

During that time, she took seven monster-expulsion jobs, completing one every two days on average. The guild's old hands, who sometimes went a whole month without doing a single job, called her a workaholic.

Mo Si did not care. What mattered was increasing her magic power.

With each of the seven jobs, the monsters she encountered grew stronger, and the magic power she gained increased accordingly.

Now, her reserves of magic power had reached a level that would have taken her over twenty years of hard training to attain!

That day, Mo Si entered the guild as usual. After having breakfast with Mira, Lisanna, Erza, Cana, and the others from the girls' dormitory, she did not head to the job board. Instead, she sat quietly on a chair at the bar.

"Planning to take a break today?" asked Makarov, who was drinking nearby.

Everyone had grown accustomed to Mo Si's workaholic habits lately. Seeing her sitting quietly there felt strange.

Something had to be behind this unusual behavior!

Makarov thought for a moment, then asked, "Not feeling well?"

Women always had a few uncomfortable days every month. Although Mo Si was a female angel, perhaps she was no different.

"No." Mo Si shook her head.

She was a Digimon. No matter how closely Angewomon's body resembled a human's, she was not human. Although she had all the organs and senses, she could not reproduce, and naturally, she did not menstruate either.

Mo Si let out a slightly wistful breath, then adopted a lighter tone and said with a faint smile, "I'm going somewhere far away to keep an appointment."

[World-crossing countdown: 1 day]

With only one day left, she had decided not to travel far.

Makarov frowned, hearing the farewell in her words. "Where?" he asked quietly.

"Where I came from," Mo Si replied.

Makarov's gaze shifted to the white wings hanging behind Mo Si. He thought the place she came from was probably the world of angels.

When he first learned that Mo Si was an angel, he had vaguely sensed that they would eventually part ways. He had never expected that day to come so soon!

He fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Will you come back?"

"Maybe I will. Maybe I won't." Mo Si herself could not be certain.

Makarov sighed. "Do you know the three rules for leaving Fairy Tail?"

"I do." Mo Si nodded.

First-never reveal information that could harm Fairy Tail to anyone, for as long as you live.

Second-never contact former clients without permission to obtain personal benefits from them.

Third-even if you follow a different path, live on with strength. Never treat your own life lightly, and never forget the companions you once cherished.

"Take care of yourself," Makarov added.

"I will."

As Mo Si felt a faint sadness over their approaching farewell, Natsu and Lisanna found an enormous egg in the eastern forest. After a lively commotion, a blue-furred cat hatched from it and was named Happy.

"So this is when it happens. I'm really lucky."

Mo Si quietly watched Happy's birth. With a soft chuckle, she walked up to Laxus and said, "Laxus, I want to challenge you."

"You?" Laxus looked puzzled.

Everyone around them was startled too.

"Did I hear that right? Mo Si wants to challenge Laxus?"

"She really does!"

In everyone's eyes, Mo Si was not the hot-blooded, battle-hungry type. Her sudden challenge was truly unexpected.

"Why?" Laxus was equally confused.

Mo Si explained with a smile, "Because I want to test the results of my training lately. If I can beat you, Laxus, someone on par with an S-Class Mage, that'll prove I have S-Class strength."

Laxus had yet to earn the official title of S-Class Mage. Hearing that Mo Si considered him one gave his vanity an enormous boost.

On the surface, however, he merely sneered. "Hmph! Finishing a few monster-expulsion jobs has made you that full of yourself? Fine, I accept! And don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a woman."

"That's exactly what I want."

Mo Si simply wanted to test her strength.

She chose Laxus because Mira, Erza, and the others had yet to mature. Only Laxus met the S-Class standard, so defeating him was the S-Class Exam Mo Si had set for herself.

In an open clearing on the hill behind the guild.

Mo Si and Laxus stood facing each other.

Makarov, Mira, Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lisanna, Elfman, and the others stood to one side, eagerly awaiting the coming battle.

"Begin!"

The moment Makarov's voice fell, a thunderous roar followed.

Boom!

Golden lightning erupted from Laxus's body. This was the lightning magic he excelled at.

Mo Si spread her wings and took to the sky.

Lightning swept across the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Lightning Spear!" Laxus had anticipated Mo Si's dodge. He raised his right hand and released a torrent of lightning. It stretched outward without dispersing, condensing into a spear of light that shot straight toward her.

Mo Si turned sideways, letting the Lightning Spear pass just three centimeters in front of her chest.

At the same time, she raised her right hand and removed the iron mask engraved with a cross from her head, revealing a pair of sapphire-blue eyes.

This was the second time she had removed her mask.

"Partial Take Over: Gatomon's Eyes!"

In the next instant, her eyes became as sharp as a cat's.

The skill they could unleash was also called Cat's Eye.

It was one of Gatomon's skills, capable of controlling enemies with a piercing gaze and making them attack themselves.

Of course, this was only a mental attack, not an ability that operated on absolute rules. It could not always take full effect, and its effectiveness varied depending on the target's strength.

For Laxus, those feline eyes merely gave him a startled jolt. They were nowhere near enough to make him attack himself.

Although it was only a momentary jolt, Mo Si seized that opening and rapidly closed the distance between them.

Three meters!

Two meters!

One meter!

At that very instant, the corner of Laxus's mouth lifted.

A magic circle blazing with golden light appeared on the ground, directly beneath Mo Si.

It was a trap!

Cat's Eye had caught Laxus off guard, but he had already laid his trap, waiting to activate it the instant Mo Si drew close.

"Lightning Magic Circle!"

A blast of electricity surged from the ground, swallowing Mo Si like a raging dragon.

Laxus laughed loudly. "Hahaha! Mo Si, you've got a long way to go before you can beat me!"

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a staff thrust out of the lightning. The jewel at its tip shone as it slammed into Laxus, sending him flying more than three meters backward.

"What's going on?" Laxus tried to get up, only to discover that he could not move a muscle.

Meanwhile, Mo Si's appearance had changed drastically.

A bat-wing emblem appeared on her mask. Her clothes took on a red, skeletal design that exposed far more skin, her boots became black, knee-high high heels, and the wings on her back transformed into one enormous Demon Wing...

"Full-Body Take Over: ZombieSatanmon Soul!"